Chapter 5
CRYSTAL.
The universe was surely playing a trick on me.
For a long moment, I just stood there, frozen, staring at him like my mind needed time to catch up with what my eyes were seeing.
"Ja... Jaden?" I whispered before I could even summon the decency to stop myself.
He blinked, like the sound of his name from my mouth had hit something deep. "Crystal?" He called me.
He actually called my name.
It was his voice. Only, it sounded deeper than I used to know.
I almost laughed. But I let out a bitter, shaky, and painful scoff. Of all the cruel jokes the universe could play on me, this one had to be the worst.
He had changed. He now had a cleaner haircut, sharper jawline, and expensive clothes that screamed power.
He looked like a man who had conquered the world and walked straight over the pieces of mine to do it.
I took in every polished inch of him. The gold watch, the designer suit, the faint smell of his usual cologne that I used to cherish on my pillow back then.
He looked good, rich, and untouched. The world had obviously treated him kindly, while it had chewed and spat me out.
And me? I was standing there in a faded T-shirt that didn't hide the exhaustion under my skin. My hands were calloused, my body thin from working too much and sleeping too little.
I knew quite a lot about him. Even when I left home five years ago, I was still obsessed with this man right here. I kept checking the news, the Internet, even gossip sites, just to keep up with his life.
Never for once did he look for me.
He lived a happy life. I also heard that his lovely wife had a son for him exactly six months after they got married, which only meant one thing: They were already in an affair even when he was still deceiving me just to get into my pants.
Oh, how foolish I was.
It took several months to stop checking and torturing myself with every new success he attained, and every photo of his perfect life. I had to teach myself to stop bleeding every time I saw his name or heard about him.
It was too painful, especially after he inherited his father's company like he always dreamed of.
I snapped out of my daze when those ugly memories flooded back in.
I crossed my arms, forcing my voice to steady. "You're a long way from home, Mr. Astor."
His expression didn't move, but his eyes softened a little. "So are you."
His confidence made my skin crawl.
"What the hell are you doing in my house?"
The concern that flickered on his face a second ago disappeared. His eyes softened in a way that only made me angrier.
"Crystal..." He sounded careful, almost like he was talking to something fragile. "Please. We need to talk."
"Talk?" I barked out a short, humorless laugh. "After five years? About what? Stocks? Your wedding? The kid you had with your fiancée six months after you left?"
His brows lowered slightly, the air shifting around him. "It's not what you think."
"Then what is it?" I snapped. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks exactly like you got everything you wanted - the company, the perfect woman, the family name - while I got left to rot."
He took a step closer, "Don't," he said, calm but sharp. "Don't turn this into something I never intended."
I immediately stepped back. "Don't. Don't come any closer." I scoffed, "And, oh, I'm sorry," I bit out. "You didn't intend to ruin me?"
He stopped. His hands went up in surrender, but his gaze didn't move from me. "You disappeared, Crystal. I came back and you were gone. I've been looking for you," he said quietly. "Everywhere."
"I guess you've finally looked far enough, huh?" I folded my arms and smiled, "So here. See? I'm alive and living perfectly without you. Now, leave!"
I tried to shut the door but he held it open with his hand and I gasped.
His eyes scanned over me and his expression softened again, "What the fuck happened to you? You..."
I laughed, "You actually care now? And what's wrong with me? Huh? I don't look like the kind of woman you could have ever had by your side, isn't it?" I sniffed, "You already made it clear with your actions. Now, leave!"
I didn't want him here by the time Jason gets back. But he didn't look like one who was even willing to move an inch.
"Please," he said again, stepping forward while ignoring my warnings. "I just want to talk."
"I don't care what you want!" I shouted. "You lost that right the moment you walked back home with another woman!"
The words came out trembling, and I hated that he could still see me crumble.
I swore never to let him see me break. But I was failing.
He exhaled, "It's not what you think, I swear, Crystal." He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath before pulling them open again, "I heard about the pregnancy... Was it mine?" He asked and the question stung really hard.
He must be stupid to have asked such a question when he was the one who actually took my virginity.
"I lost your baby, Jason." I looked away immediately. "We have nothing else binding us together. Now, get the hell out."
"Crystal..."
"I said get out!" I shouted again, and I swear, I heard my voice echoing off the walls.
He stood still at first. Then, suddenly, he pushed the door open wider and stepped in.
"Leave! Jaden!" I yelled, following him inside, as I grabbed his arm and shove at his shoulder. "You can't just walk into my life like this!"
"I'm not leaving," he said flatly, pulling his arm free.
My hands shook with untamed rage. "You don't belong here, Jaden!"
"I belonged wherever you were," he muttered, glancing around the small room.
And that's when he saw something I wish he never saw.
The toy car on the table.
I froze.
His eyes lingered on it for a moment too long - the shiny red car Jason had begged Noah to buy when he got good grades in school last month.
He looked back at me ever so slowly. "What's this?"
"It's nothing," I said quickly, moving to grab it.
But he was faster. He picked it up before I could reach it, turning it over in his hands, with his brows drawing together. "It's... new."
"It's just a toy, Jaden," I said quickly. "Don't make a scene out of everything."
His eyes shifted to the half-eaten birthday cake sitting beside it - Jason's cake, the candle stub still sticking out of it.
"What the fuck is going on here?"
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